Passage of current legislation that creates a path to legalization for 11 million undocumented immigrants could create a new pool of 3 million homeowners and pump more than $500 billion in sales, income and spending into the U.S. housing economy, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP).
NAHREP says the chain reaction triggered by home purchases would drive demand for more than $500 billion in real estate transactions and an additional $233 billion in origination fees, real estate commissions and consumer spending associated with homeownership.
Based on previous estimates from analysts, NAHREP officials calculate that as many as 6 million undocumented immigrants are likely to pursue legalization and possibly citizenship under the bill, and up to 3 million would pursue homeownership based on the patterns of naturalized Latinos.
The organization based its projections on updated data and the approach it used for its 2004 study ‘The Potential for Homeownership Among Undocumented Workers’ to estimate the economic impact on the current housing economy.
Assuming an average of 5.5% in sales commissions for these home sales, these purchases would create $28 billion in income within the real estate community, NAHREP adds.
‘Homeownership is an integral part of the American Dream in the undocumented immigrant community,’ says Gary Acosta, co-founder of NAHREP. ‘Our estimates in 2004 were very conservative, and we received many calls from consumers who wanted to know what lenders were offering these loans. With the possibility of a legitimate path to residency and citizenship, we expect this group to be eager to buy homes.’
